Keith Baker along with Monte Cook Will Lead Workshops at Dungeon Master Academy

Since 2018, a specialized event organizer has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where professional dungeon masters lead Dungeons & Dragons games in historic castles in England and at Landoll’s Mohican Castle. The full-service getaways are highly favored among career game masters who seldom have the chance to join in the game themselves, and they often look for guidance from experts on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and puzzle design to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the organizers began designing a systematic approach to address these questions, which led to the founding of Dungeon Master University. The first session is scheduled for early January 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“It's possible to view numerous digital guides on virtually any subject and acquire valuable insights, but the idea was that there’s just no substitute a live, hands-on session together with other dungeon masters, where real-time interaction with faculty instructors and your fellow DMs often in the same boat and also want to improve their skills,” explained the program's dean.

Workshop Options and Pricing Tiers

Dungeon Masters can select tiers ranging from $995 to two thousand five hundred dollars, according to the level of access they desire with the professionals. The base tier includes selection from four classes:

• Skill Building: Covers the essentials of managing a session.
• Campaign Building: Centers on crafting long-running games.
• Setting Creation: Concentrates on the crafting of environments.
• Professional Development: Designed for dungeon masters who want to learn more about the tabletop profession.

All workshops includes two days of classwork spread over 48 hours.

“The classes are created so that you leave with immediate practical outcomes, increased self-assurance, and many practical techniques,” Carl explained. “They’re not just lectures and they go beyond recorded content. These classes that you can join, absorb insights from, and then return to your group the following week and implement in your local game.”

Expert Instructors

Many sessions are instructed by duo of instructors. Setting design is led by Monte Cook and the creator of Eberron, both teaching the craft of setting creation.

Industry advancement includes several experts, such as an author on gaming puzzles, Clint McElroy, and a pioneering DM. The expanded teaching staff is meant to offer targeted guidance to participants with definite objectives.

“Some of them aim to start their own live gameplay show and share their stories with the world, others plan to produce and write original content,” Carl explained. “Some just want to ask, What does it take to be a DM at a program like a castle event? What capabilities that I need? Is this achievable?”

Advanced Options

A fifteen hundred dollar enhanced option offers access to a introductory event, a introductory package, and a half-hour consultation appointment with a teacher. This marks the debut of the program, though the company has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between campaigns at their premium gatherings.

“It would be possible to organize an complete event just on one-on-one meetings for professional dungeon masters,” Carl observed. “I'm not certain if that’s the optimal application of all participants' schedule – I believe the coursework and the lab work is highly beneficial – but I suspect it’s going to be one of the most popular parts of the program.”

The twenty-five hundred dollar premium option includes an hour of one-on-one time and the chance to run a game for five players plus an instructor, who will then offer feedback and coaching.

“The aim is for the faculty member to review any element is interested in: I struggle with improvisation or I get blocked in specific fight encounters. Can I run a situation for you and receive input on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl explained. “Alternatively they want to obtain critique and guidance on a particular setting that they’ve been developing.”

Future Plans

Input from the first event will help shape upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that likely modifications could include expanding one-on-one sessions, lengthening the event to a longer period, or trying out varied class arrangements.

“I hope that we conduct these regularly,” Carl stated. “I really want to see several DMU sessions in a given year, in various locations, and in various nations. The feedback has been overwhelmingly favorable. We’re very happy with the results so far and I feel it would be fantastic to be able to conduct this in collaboration with big conventions.”